I came here just to say this.... Sauber wont be last IMHO, Not even close.

Well I think it is rather unlikely that they will be last too. They were the only team last year to be running a 2016 engine. And towards the end of the season, they really were not that bad when comparing to the start. In Mexico, Ericsson even managed to defend Hamilton for a couple of laps. and was running in the points early on. It was quite possible he would have finished 9th or 10th if his engine didn't blow. With current 2018 engine, I expect that to be a massive leap forward. Even if other teams leap forward too, I expect Sauber to more than a lot. Their chassis looks very different and looks like it could turn out well if they got it right. And their new sponsors money may well help them get even better over the season. Now Toro Rosso has the leased experienced line up and a Honda engine, I just don't see them managing to do better than Sauber. Unless it turns out that Honda get things right and turn out to be the best engine on the grid by far (which is unlikely)

I don't know how well Leclerc will do compared to Ericsson considering he is a rookie. Ericsson in in his 5th year in F1 and 4th with Sauber so I do expect he will beat him this season. He's not as bad as most think as pace wise, he wasn't far off Wehrlein at all. He just needs to make less mistakes. It is possible he could get better in time.

Midfield is difficult to predict after testing my guess is Haas will be 4th and Renault 5th then Mclaren, FI, STR, Williams, Saubers. It should be close between these teams and probably Renault and Mclaren will end up as 4th and 5th by end of the year.

Midfield is difficult to predict after testing my guess is Haas will be 4th and Renault 5th then Mclaren, FI, STR, Williams, Saubers. It should be close between these teams and probably Renault and Mclaren will end up as 4th and 5th by end of the year.

So just some observations from the first two races, and I figured I would stick it in here rather than make a whole new thread

Teams that seem to be on the upswing.

FerrariHaasSauber Alfa RomeoToro RossoMcLaren

Teams that look like they have lost a step

MercedesForce IndiaWilliams

No improvement or loss

RenaultRed Bull

So the Honda engine this year is better than Honda engine last year, and Renault engine this year is better than the Honda engine last year, which explains Toro Rosso and McLaren doing better, but what is interesting is the drop off of the Mercedes engine teams.

Williams right now is in a mess, a total tailspin, which could be pinned on the drivers, but Force India, last seasons clear best of the rest outside the top three, are struggling as well.

Meanwhile Haas and Sauber AR are putting in solid results to the surprise of some.

We still don't really know how quick the Redbulls are in race trim. I predict they are going to shock a lot of people in China. Mercedes should be fastest there, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Ferrari back to being the third fastest car. I also don't expect TR to be leading the midfield in China. Think Haas will be the ones to do that there. It really is shocking to see the lack of pace of the Mercedes customer teams. They were pretty much back markers in Bahrain.